PVC Shoe Rack

Hi guys! As the title goes this is a simple project using PVC pipe and PVC accessories to make a small size 2-tier shoe rack. I used class D 15mm diameter grey colored PVC pipe for this purpose.

The total number of pipes and accessories used to build a 2-tier rack are as follows:

PVC Pipe 15mm (1 mtr length) x 4.
PVC fittings Elbow 15mm x 4.
PVC fittings Tee 15mm x 12.
PVC fittings Socket 15mm x 4.

Although you can glue the PVC pipe and fittings to strengthen the joint I decided not to. This is because of two things; first off all, I don’t have to. I can simply push the pipe and fittings together and it will lock in place firmly. The rack will sits on the floor and you don’t have to worry if its falls off. Secondly, it allows me to expand the rack in the future, to add more tiers or if I have to replace the fabric shelf.

Talking about the fabric shelf, initially I’ve wanted to make a rack out of only PVC pipes. Although it is possible, I would need a lot of fittings and it might turn out bigger than what I intended. So I decided to make a shelf out of fabric. What type of fabric? Well, I found this faux leather apron in a DIY store and I thought this is a great material for my project. It’s thick enough to support the weight, I can stitch it together and the most important thing is it has a beautiful leather pattern on one side. Perfect for my shoe rack.

The faux leather apron.

Next is to decide the size of the rack. I roughly picks a size of 600mm length x 250mm depth x 100mm height (in between the tiers). It’s quite small in size but a single tier can have 3 pair of shoes, so it’s more than enough.

The assembly of the rack is pretty easy. I cut few long bars to place the faux leather, shorter bar for side support, and vertical bars to connect all the pipe fittings. A handsaw is all you need to cut the pipe into its dimension.

Assembling the rack.

To prepare the fabric shelf I cut the faux leather apron according to the measurement shown in the image below. Luckily my shoe rack is small enough that a single apron can cover both tiers. I folded the faux leather with the sides have enough space to slide in the PVC pipe.

Prepping the faux leather.

As for stitching the leather I chose to use an eyelet punch tool. Simply make a hole along the folded seam with a leather punch, separating each hole about 3-inches in between. I use a brass eyelet (it looks more like gold by the way) and punch it all the way with the punch tool. The faux leather now have a classy looks of leather with gold eyelets.

Punching the eyelets.

Shelf fabric is done!

Final step is to dismantle the horizontal bar from the rack, slid in the pipe onto the fabric shelf and mount it back onto the rack. Make sure to push the PVC fitting tightly to secure it in place, and then its all done!